The Latest Public Mountain Conditions Report for the Interior Mountains near Meadow Creek:
Just back from five days of setup and staff orientation at a cat ski operation near Meadow Creek BC. Here are some observations from the field.
Mostly NE facing tree-line and below tree-line terrain was explored with a brief excursion into SE facing alpine terrain (1500m to 2300m elevation range). Temperatures started out relatively mild then cooling to the minus 10C range on Thursday and remaining cool through yesterday. Winds were calm picking up to light from the SE on Friday in the alpine.
The December 7 surface hoar/facets/crust layer was found down about 70cm down in several pits dug on the NE aspect at 2100m. This layer was difficult to trigger. In one case, I took the column off the pit wall and tried, unsuccessfully to break it cleanly over my knee. An easier shear was found about 30cm down at the recent storm snow interface. This layer failed in the pits with moderate tap tests. It also was obvious with ski cutting, but failed only on steep unsupported rolls with a lot of jumping. As this layer tightens up and with more loading, this layer could become easier to trigger. No other avalanche activity was observed.
Surface hoar started to grow in all areas we visited after the temperatures dropped on Thursday. The crystals grew to 3-5mm in size with some reaching 10-12mm before the light dusting Saturday night partly buried them. In the alpine with the winds on Friday, the surface hoar was either blown away or growth prevented. With the forecast new snow, this could become another problem layer in the future.
In general we had great early season skiing. The well-settled mid-pack carried our skis well and the loose storm snow on top made for some great powder skiing. The main hazards were loose snow sloughing in steeper (35+ degrees) terrain and the low snow coverage below 1700m hiding stumps, rocks, fallen trees and alder. Despite the relatively good stability, we skied cautiously: avoided steep convex rolls and exposed only one person at a time on steep, open slopes.
Enjoy the holiday season and play safely out there.
Craig Hollinger,
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide.
